Unno was a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

from the medieval

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...

n shire of

Rüstringen Rüstringen or Rustringen was an old Frisian gau, which lies between the modern district Friesland and the Weser river in modern Lower Saxony. Nowadays, only a small part of the original territory remains, namely the Butjadingen peninsula. The lar ...

. In the

Frankish annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the stat ...

, Unno is described as a Frisian duke. He belonged to the Frisian elite who were willing to cooperate with the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

after annexation of

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

in 772. In exchange for retaining their old privileges they had to become

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and leave their

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

beliefs. Following the defeat of the revolt of 782–785, the Frisians suffered harsh punishments and forced recruitment for the

Frankish Empire Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

's campaign against the Avars in the east. This led Unno, together with

Eilrad Eilrad was a Frisian Duke from the medieval shire Rüstringen. In 793 carried Eilrad with Unno, another leader, the Frisians in their revolt against the Frankish Empire from Charlemagne. This rebellion resulted that the Frisians temporarily fell ...

, to lead another revolt against the Frankish empire of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

. This revolt resulted in the Frisians temporarily falling back to their old pagan beliefs. Christian missionaries such as

Liudger Ludger ( la, Ludgerus; also Lüdiger or Liudger) (born at Zuilen near Utrecht 742; died 26 March 809 at Billerbeck) was a missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, founder of Werden Abbey and the first Bishop of Münster in Westphalia. He has ...

were forced to flee and had to find a safe haven in the south of the Frankish empire. Unlike the earlier rebellion this one was to the area east of the Lauwers. It was beaten down in the same year.

Sources

* , ''Het rijk van de Friese koningen, opkomst en ondergang'', Utrecht, 2000, pag. 310. Medieval Frisian rulers {{EastFrisia-stub